The Big Impact
Edition 3, September 2014
From the
Director
THE lead article in this issue
of Big Impact highlights the
success that has been achieved
in Western Australia (as it has
across many Australian states) in
relation to reducing the prevalence
of driving under the influence of
alcohol. These findings highlight
what can be achieved by successful road policing
(in association with social marketing) as well as
highlighting the potential for changes in current policy
with respect to Western Australia. The feature article
also illustrates the collaborative work undertaken by
the Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre; a joint
research centre between Curtin University in Perth and
Monash University which was established in 2009.
This collaboration is bringing researchers from both
research groups together and a number of exciting
research initiatives are currently being developed; we
will feature these initiatives in future issues. Over the
next two years, one aspect of our research will focus
on the challenges now arising from drug driving. Again,
we will feature the findings here.
The final feature highlights just how complex
recovery from road trauma is and this insightful
research is contributing to our understanding of postinjury outcomes. Please don’t hesitate to contact the
researchers if you would like to discuss these or any of
our studies highlighted in this issue.
A roadside survey of the
BAC levels of night time
drivers in the Perth
metropolitan area
In 2012, more than 14,000 people received drink driving
convictions in Western Australia, with more than 2500
convictions recorded for driving with a blood alcohol
concentration above 0.15, the highest threshold
recognised by the law.
DESPITE these high numbers,
new research from MUARC and
the Curtin Monash Accident
Research Centre (CMARC) reveal
a reduction in WA drivers with
both legal and illegal levels of
alcohol in their systems.
MUARC’s Belinda Clark
together with CMARC’s Peter
Palamara, have just completed
Professor Mark Stevenson
Director, MUARC
www.monash.edu/miri/muarc
u
A roadside survey of the BAC levels of night time drivers in the Perth
metropolitan area continued
a project comparing driver/rider blood
alcohol content (BAC) levels obtained at
Perth based Random Breath Test (RBT)
booze bus sites, facilitated by the Western
Australia Police.
These findings were then compared
with two similar studies conducted in 1999
(Ryan, 2000) and 2000 (Kirov, 2001); the
study design replicated these two previous
surveys in location, day of week and time
of day. The findings identified a reduction
in the proportion of drivers detected with
both positive (but legal) as well as illegal
BAC levels (≥0.05 g/100ml full licence
holders or 0.02g/100ml learner, provision
drivers), compared to data obtained in the
1999 and 2000 surveys.
CMARC survey teams attended 36
RBT booze bus sites on Thursday, Friday
and Saturday nights over a six week
period during April-May 2012, all sites
were located within the Perth metropolitan
area. Demographic data was collected
by the survey team about drivers/riders
while stopped at the RBT site to provide a
preliminary breath test (PBT) and included:
gender, age, vehicle type, licence status.
In addition, those who recorded a positive
BAC reading (>zero) were asked to
report the type of venue in which they’d
consumed their last alcohol beverage. This
demographic data was later matched with
their BAC reading obtained from the police
PBT.
Of the 8,435 drivers tested, 1.4%
were detected with an illegal BAC level,
representing a significant reduction in
the number of drivers detected with an
illegal BAC compared to both of the two
previous survey findings of 2.1% of drivers
in 2000 and 1.9% in 1999. Amongst
the drivers with illegal BACs there was
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DRUGS
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www.monash.edu/miri/muarc
a smaller proportion of drivers detected
(0.7%) in the current survey within the
≥0.05-0.079 g/100ml range compared to
the two previous surveys (1.0% & 1.1%
respectively). However, in the 0.08-0.149
g/100ml BAC range a greater proportion of
drivers were detected in the current survey
(1.5%) than in the 1999 survey (0.8%)
and in 2000 (0.9%). The same proportion
of drivers (0.1%) was detected in ≥0.15
g/100ml BAC range across all three
surveys.
Western Australia is the only Australian
jurisdiction to apply the back-calculation
process to BAC evidentiary tests. The
application of the back-calculation process
in this survey sample resulted in 26 drivers
not receiving a drink driving charge and
a further 65 drivers receiving a reduced
charge ranging from one to four BAC
charge levels lower. The findings suggest
that the implementation of this backcalculation process may inadvertently
favour drink drivers and therefore the
cessation of this process warrants
consideration.
The authors recommend that in order
to maximize both general and specific
deterrence, regular RBT enforcement
schedules should be extended into the
early hours of the morning to reflect the
evolving changes in socialisation and
alcohol consumption patterns. Regular
replication (annual or maximum every three
years) of this type of survey will play a key
role in monitoring drink driving patterns,
and informing police RBT enforcement and
drink driving countermeasures.
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DRUGS
Taking responsibility for
an accident has a positive
impact on health outcomes
Special
Guest Lecture
Taking responsibility for a road accident is a strong indicator for how well
a person will recover, according to a series of new studies from MUARC,
Deakin, and Melbourne University researchers.
THE study reveals that people who blame
others for an accident have worse physical
and mental health outcomes than those
who take responsibility for the incident –
even though the injuries may be the same.
According to lead researcher, MUARC’s
Jason Thompson, pictured bottom left,
previous research has shown that people
who receive compensation after accidents
have worse outcomes than people who
don’t, suggesting a link between the two.
However all participants in the MUARC
study had access to no-fault
compensation through the TAC,
suggesting that “something other than an
effect of simply claiming compensation
was going on,” Mr Thompson said.
The study looked at over 1,000 people
surveyed as part of the TAC’s regular client
outcomes study during 2011. Questions
related to their physical and mental health,
their anxiety around traffic, levels of pain,
and attributions of responsibility for the
accident.
The research revealed that – even after
taking account of people’s injuries, age,
gender, education, job status, and time
since the crash, people who reported not
being responsible for their accident had
worse outcomes. “They were also far less
satisfied with the compensation services
they had received”, it was reported.
The researchers say that the
implications for insurers, medical
professionals, and employers are great as
they show that recovery, satisfaction with
care, and time off work is closely related to
the way accidents occur. “People might
wonder why it takes one person so much
longer than another to recover from similar
injuries in a car accident. It might be that
the crash circumstances were very
different”, Mr Thompson said.
The research has already assisted the
TAC to understand and identify those at
greater risk of experiencing poor
post-accident recoveries, enabling them to
be managed by the most appropriate
rehabilitation teams earlier on in the claims
process. This assists to reduce ‘claim
movement’, which can be a source of
frustration for clients who must then deal
with multiple rehabilitation managers.
The series of studies will appear over
the coming months in US Journal
Rehabilitation Psychology, and UK Journal
Clinical Rehabilitation.
Dr Nicole van Nes, senior
researcher with the Dutch
National Road Safety Research
Institute in the Netherlands,
gave a lecture in July. The
capacity audience heard Dr
van Nes discuss the interplay
between technology and
behaviour – and importantly,
how to achieve desired
behaviour through design.
Currently the coordinator
of the 10 million euro EUfunded large scale European
Naturalistic Driving Study,
UDRIVE, Dr van Nes has also
been a key player in the first
European Naturalistic Driving
initiatives and she participated
in the European Naturalistic
Driving projects INTERACTION,
DaCoTa and PROLOGUE.
Dr van Nes was a Research
Fellow at MUARC in 2008/9
and MUARC Director, Professor
Mark Stevenson, said that
it was terrific to welcome Dr
van Nes back to MUARC and
pleasing to see large numbers
attending the lecture, which is
an indication of the enormous
interest in naturalistic driving
studies as a way to better
understand the key factors
associated with driving
performance.
www.monash.edu/miri/muarc
3
Below are MUARC publications this quarter:
Johnson M; Oxley J; Newstead S;
Charlton C. Safety in numbers?
Investigating Australian driver
behaviour, knowledge and
attitudes towards cyclists.
Accident Analysis and Prevention
2014. 70:148-154.
Candappa, N; Logan D; van Nes
N; Corben B. An exploration
of alternative intersection
designs in the context of Safe
System. Accident Analysis and
Prevention. 2014.
Doi:10.1016/j.aap.2014.07.030
Hughes P; Newstead S; Shafieri S;
Hopkins J. Data foundations for
relationships between economic
and transport factors with
road safety outcomes. Journal
Australian College of Road
Safety. 2014. Vol 25(3): 41-49.
Lansdown T; Stephens A; Walker
G. Multiple driver distractions:
A systematic transport
problem. Accident Analysis and
Prevention. 2014.
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2014.07.006
Read G; Salmon P; Lenne M.
Cognitive work analysis and
design: Current practice and
future practitioner requirements.
Theoretical Issues on Ergonomic
Science: http://dx.doi.org/10.10
80/1463922X.2014.930935
Further information
Monash University Accident
Research Centre (MUARC)
Building 70, Clayton Campus
Monash University, VIC 3800
Telephone: +61 3 9905 4371
Email: miri-enquiry@monash.edu
4
www.monash.edu/miri/muarc
Kuo, J; Koppel S; Charlton J;
Rudin-Brown C. Computer
vision and driver distraction:
Developing a behaviour-flagging
protocol for naturalistic driving
data. Accident Analysis and
Prevention. Vol 72. 177-183.
Stevenson M. Epidemiology
and transport: good science
is paramount. Injury
Prevention doi:10.1136/
injuryprev-2014-041392
Newstead S; Watson L; Cameron M.
Vehicle Safety Ratings Estimated
from Police Reported Crash
Data: 2014 update.
www.monash.edu/miri/
research/reports/muarc321pdf